Powerball jackpot reaches $425 million

(WMC-TV) - A record Powerball jackpot is up for grabs. Wednesday night's pot is expected to hit $425 million.

At the Tennessee Lottery, about 27 cents of every dollar spent on lottery tickets go to education in the state. More than $2.4 billion from the lottery have been earmarked for education since 2004.

"We'll get a lot of new players. We'll get a lot of excitement, and that means a lot of dollars for education," said Kym Gerlock, TN Lottery spokesperson. "A lot of people don't realize there are nine ways to win Powerball, so even if you don't win the jackpot, check your numbers because there are lot of prize levels as well."

The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 175 million.

If you include the nine different prize levels in the Powerball, your odds are considerably better at one in 32.

There was a $1 million winner in Memphis a few months ago. There was also a $2 million winner in the Bluff City a few months ago.

And just because there are 33 states involved in the Powerball, that does not mean your chances get worse.

"Even if three people played, you're going to have the same odds of winning because it is the numbers of the balls, not how many people play," said Gerlock.

The Powerball lottery drawing is Wednesday night. You need to buy your tickets before 9 p.m. if you want to have a shot at winning.

Lottery administrators expect the record jackpot to grow past $425 million before the drawing.

(AP Photo/Jennifer Kay). Six crosses are placed at a makeshift memorial on the Florida International University campus in Miami on Saturday, March 17, 2018, near the scene of a pedestrian bridge collapse that killed at least six people on March 15.

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Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

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